Al-Tabarānī (1) also related that whenever he looked at the House, he would say:
“O Allah, increase this House of Yours in honour, majesty, dignity, and awe.”
It is also reported that, upon seeing it, he would raise his hands, proclaim Allah’s greatness, and say:
“O Allah, You are Peace, and from You comes peace; so greet us (2), our Lord, with peace” (3).
“O Allah, increase this House in honour, majesty, dignity, and awe, and increase those who perform Hajj or ‘umrah at it in dignity, honour, esteem, and righteousness” (4).
The report omits the Companion from its chain, but Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib heard ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb say this.
When he entered the mosque, he headed straight for the House without offering the prayer of greeting the mosque, for the greeting of the Sacred Mosque is circumambulation. When he came level with the Black Stone, he touched it without jostling others to reach it. He did not go past it towards the Yemeni Corner, nor did he raise his hands or say, “I intend such-and-such by these seven circuits of circumambulation.” Nor did he begin it by proclaiming Allah’s greatness as he would for prayer (5), as
(1) In al-Kabīr (3/181) and al-Awsat (6132), from Hudhayfah ibn Usayd (may Allah be pleased with him). The chain includes ‘Āsim ibn Sulaymān al-Kūzī, of whom ‘Amr al-Fallās, Ibn ‘Adī, and al-Sājī said: “He used to fabricate hadith.” See al-Silsilah al-Da‘īfah (4215) and Difā‘ ‘an al-Hadīth al-Nabawī (p. 37), both by al-Albānī.
(2) Q, B, Mb: “hayyinā (greet us).”
(3) Narrated as a statement of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) by Ahmad in al-‘Ilal (197), al-Bukhārī in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr (1/294), and al-Bayhaqī (5/73). Al-Albānī graded this report as hasan (good) in Manāsik al-Hajj wa-l-‘Umrah (p. 20), stating: “No specific supplication at this point has been reliably established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One may therefore offer whatever supplication comes readily to one. If one uses ‘Umar’s supplication … that is good, since it is established from him (may Allah be pleased with him).”
(4) Al-Bayhaqī (5/118) narrated this supplication from Ibn Jurayj with a disconnected chain (mursal). The hadith is not reliably established. See al-Talkhīs al-Habīr (2/242).
(5) “As he would proclaim Allah’s greatness for prayer” is absent from the printed edition.